Ranger's Drabbles
by spookisapuppy
Summary: This is just a place for me to put all of my abandoned little story ideas. Wow. That sounded unbelievably boring. But you should read anyway! :P
1. Just Squish It!

_ Okay, so I just started this story as a place to put up all of my little snippets of stuff that don't fit into any of my stories. In other words, these are just going to be a bunch of drabbles. They won't be in any particular order. This first one has Halt and Pauline. Enjoy. :P_

* * *

"Ah!" The scream rang through the small apartment, causing Halt to jolt and splash his coffee onto the floor. He set down the cup and rushed back into the small bedroom, drawing his saxe knife as he went.

"What!" he cried as he burst into the room.

"Kill it Halt!" Pauline cried. She was in the middle of what could only be described as "freaking out." She was hopping from one foot to the other and frantically brushing at her hair and clothes. In other words, she was being the complete opposite of her usual dignified self.

"What? Kill what?" Halt said, utterly confused by the lack of apparent danger and Pauline's frantic behavior.

"That!" she said, pointing at a spot on the floor.

Halt took a step toward the spot and bent down to inspect it. Then he looked back up at Pauline in disbelief. "It's a bug, Pauline."

"It's disgusting is what it is. It was in my _hair_," she said with a shudder.

"It's just a beetle," Halt said. He knelt down and put out a hand toward the insect. "Come on little bug." The beetle obligingly crawled onto Halt's hand, where he cupped it in his palm and placed his other hand over it to prevent its flying away. "I'm just going to take your little friend here outside."

"No, just squish it. Show no mercy."

"Remind never to get on your bad side," Halt muttered. Then he rose his voice enough for Pauline to hear, "I'm just going to set it outside Pauline."

"But what if it comes back?"

"Then I'll squish it," Halt said.

"Alright, fine. Just get it out of here." Pauline took a step back as Halt walked past with the bug. He walked out of the door and down the castle steps, shaking his head at just how ridiculous this whole situation was. His wife had faced down armed men. She had stabbed people. She was one of the most intimidating people Halt had ever met. But put a bug in her hair and she turned into a shrieking little girl. The Ranger shook his head once more as he made it to the ground floor of the castle and stepped outside.

He bent down and put his hand on the ground, allowing the bug to crawl off of his palm. Then he began the long walk back up the stairs to his apartment. Pauline was waiting for him as he walked through the door. Immediately, she stepped forward and gave him a kiss. Halt looked up at her, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "What was that for?"

"For saving me from that demonic creature," Pauline answered.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Halt turned around and stepped through the still open doorway. "Ill be right back."

"What? Where are you going?" Pauline asked, genuinely confused.

"I have to find another bug." He ducked as Pauline took a swipe at his head, and laughed when she slammed the door in his face.


	2. Just Walk Away

_ Okay, so here's another little abandoned story idea. In this one, Will and Alyss are arguing and Halt decides to help them out. I don't actually know what they're arguing _about _which is probably the reason I never wrote any more on this. So, enjoy, I suppose. :P_

* * *

Halt walked through the door, took one look at the scene unfolding in his living room, and marched straight back out again. He headed down the hall, through a few doors, outside, to the stables, got on Abelard, and rode out to a small cabin nestled on the edge of the woods outside of Castle Redmont. He left Abelard with Tug, and went behind the small house, to find his former apprentice rapidly firing arrows into three different targets.

He leaned against a tree and watched for a moment. Each arrow was finding the bulls eye, and they were being fired incredibly fast. When Will ran out of arrows in his quiver Halt walked over.

"Have a fight with Alyss?"

Will looked over at Halt, an incredulous look on his face. "Now how could you have _possibly_ know that?"

Halt nodded in the direction of the targets bristling with arrows. "Because I used to do the same thing." They began walking towards the targets.

"What do you mean you did the same thing?"

Halt shrugged slightly. "When Pauline and I fought, this is what I would do. And I must admit, it works great to let off some frustrations, at least, until you have to go back and face her."

"Halt, I have never seen you and Pauline fight, I've never even seen you argue."

Halt worked at pulling an arrow from the target before answering. "Ah, but you see, that's because we've found something that works better."

Will raised his eyebrows at his old master. "And that is?"

"It's an amazing little thing called talking."

"You know, we started out talking, and it ended up with me out here."

"Well, you were probably doing it wrong."

Will shot Halt another incredulous look. "Halt, how can you _talk_ wrong?"

"You let yourselves get mad at each other. You can't do that, it just leads to a screaming competition."

"Well, how do you avoid it?"

"It's quite simple. If you get mad, just walk away."

Will yanked another arrow out and replaced it in his quiver. "That's it? That's your advice? Walk away?"

"Yes. Just walk away for a minute and calm yourself down, then go back and talk to each other."

"Really? That's how you argue?"

"Well, that's the way you argue if you want to accomplish anything. If you just want to be angry, then by all means, continue the way you're going."

"Alright. I'll try it your way."

"Good."

They had collected all of Will's arrows and began walking back towards the cabin.

"There's only one problem," Halt rose one eyebrow at him in a question, "I don't know where Alyss is."

Halt sighed deeply. "I do."

* * *

"That was a nice thing you did Halt," Pauline said later that day. She and Halt were standing high in one of Castle Redmont's towers, staring down into the courtyard at their two former apprentices. They had been speaking for several minutes now, and both had turned away from the other a few times. But now, as Will led Alyss away by the hand, everything seemed to be right between the two of them. Halt turned to look at his wife.

"How do you know I did it to be nice? Maybe I just wanted the sobbing girl out of my living room."

"Oh, I'm sure that's part of the reason. But I know you wanted to help Will, you big softie."

"Big softie? You know, over these past few years I seem to have lost my fearsome reputation."

"Halt, I've never thought you were fearsome." Halt turned to scowl at her, causing Pauline to grin. "You see? Just a big old pussycat." Pauline continued to smile. Halt walked away.


	3. Don't Worry

_Okay, here's another little unfinished idea. In this one, Will has gone on a mission and Halt is worried about him. Pauline tries to make him feel better. Wow, that sounded lame. This is just a little fluffy piece. And yes, I realize that Halt is _way_ OOC in this. That's why this never made it into a story. Enjoy! :P _

* * *

Halt stood pacing in the middle of his living room. Pauline watched him with mild interest from her chair in front of the fire.

"Stop worrying. Will is going to be fine," she said as he turned to make his tenth lap of the room.

"But how do you know that?" Halt asked.

"Because you trained him. You taught him everything he needs to know, and besides that, he's a smart boy, and he's brave. He'll come home safe."

"But what if something goes wrong? What if this is the _one time_ that he gets hurt?"

"It won't be. Now come sit down." Halt reluctantly dropped into the chair opposite his wife and picked up a report from Crowley. He stared at the paper for a full five minutes before he realized that he hadn't read a single word. Sighing, Halt stood. Pauline looked up at the movement.

"Halt, you're pacing again."

"Sorry," Halt said distractedly. But he didn't stop. Pauline shook her head and went back to her reading. Suddenly, Halt stopped moving. He looked over his shoulder at his wife.

"Pauline?"

She looked up. "Yes?"

"Do you think it will ever go away?"

"What?"

"The worry."

"No, Halt. I don't think it ever will."

"You don't? Then why did you tell me to stop?"

"Because I'm right; Will will be fine."

Halt shook his head. "Somehow, that doesn't make a difference."

Pauline nodded. "I know it doesn't. In your head you know he'll be alright, but your heart can't accept that. You love him, Halt. And when you love someone you always worry about them, no matter what."

"That sounded very wise," Halt said solemnly.

Pauline smiled. "It did, didn't it? Thought that up all by myself." Halt smiled, just the tiniest bit. Pauline stood from her chair. "Now come on. Some tea will help settle your nerves."

"I would prefer coffee," Halt said as he followed the elegant blonde woman into the kitchen.

"I thought you'd say that," Pauline said with a smile. She set to work filling the coffee pot with water and heating it on the stove. Halt watched her as he leaned against the table, tapping one foot anxiously. Just as Pauline was about to pour the coffee there came a knocking at the door.

_Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap. Tap._

Halt relaxed visibly at the sound. That was Will's knock. He met Pauline's eyes with a pleading gaze. She rolled her eyes. "Go."

Halt went off like a shot to answer the door. Pauline pulled down another mug and filled it to the brim with coffee. Carrying the three cups, which proved to be a study in balance, she entered the front room after her husband. She smiled slightly as she saw Halt speaking to Will, acting his grim old self again.

"Hello Will," she said as she pushed a mug into his hands. "We were just talking about you."

"Really? What about?"

"Oh, just how I'm always right." She stared meaningfully at Halt, who took a sip of coffee and stared innocently back at her over the top of the mug. She turned back to Will. "Now, I assume you'll tell us all about your mission?" Will nodded. "Good, come sit down, both of you." The two Rangers walked over to the chairs placed around the fire. Pauline smiled as she saw how Halt automatically walked slightly behind Will, a careful eye on all his movements.

No, the worry would never go away.

* * *

_ And there it is. Short, fluffy, and to the point. Also, I would like to point out that I updated this twice in one day. Not bad, huh? Reviews would be nice. :P_


	4. Just Kidding

_ So, after realizing that I am one of the only people on this site who includes Crowley into their stories, I decided to write a drabble about him. He just doesn't get included in many stories. 'Tis a shame. I find him quite entertaining. Except, in this one, he's rather evil. Oh, and Horace and Cassandra are in this one too. So here it is, hope you enjoy. :P_

* * *

"Well isn't that interesting," Crowley murmured as he watched Horace unobtrusively slip a cake into his pocket."You seem such an honest soul, Horace," Crowley said to himself as he watched the young knight exit the kitchens of Castle Araluen. Crowley saw an opportunity in this, one that was far too good to pass up. Moving silently as only a Ranger could he slipped out of the kitchen.

* * *

Later that day Horace found a note lying on the dresser in his room.

_I know what you did._

_ -C_

C? Who was C? It could have been Cassandra. But he had done nothing to upset her. Unless-

Oh, that would be bad. Cassandra certainly couldn't know about that. There was no way. He'd covered his tracks well. Or at least, he thought he had. If she had found out then he may as well be a dead man. Horace let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. With hands shaking slightly he started to fold up the note.

"Horace what are you doing?" Horace jumped and shoved the note into a pocket before turning to face Cassandra.

"Oh, uh, me? Nothing."

Cassandra gave him a look that said 'okay, that was weird, but I'm going to move past it.' "Well, are you coming to dinner?" she asked as she gestured toward the hall from where she stood in the open doorway of his room.

"Oh, yes, I'm coming." He hurried across the room, hoping nothing seemed out of place in his expression, and took his place by Cassandra's side. He closed the door behind them as they began the walk to the dining hall. As they walked Horace studied Cassandra, as unobtrusively as he could. She was wearing a red dress with long sleeves and black trim. Her honey-blonde hair played at her shoulders. She looked beautiful. But all Horace could think was that the dress was uncomfortably close to the color of blood.

He was snapped out of his revelry as they arrived at the dining hall. The room was huge, just like everything else at Castle Araluen, dominated by a long oaken table running down the center of the room. Over two dozen people could sit at that table, but today there were relatively few. King Duncan, Cassandra, himself, and a smattering of the King's advisers, among them was Crowley, the Ranger Commandant. Horace licked his lips nervously before taking his place at Cassandra's left side. As the food was brought out Horace tried to shove his worries to the back of his mind and focus on the conversation around him. He was failing miserably.

Crowley, meanwhile, was quite easily managing to uphold a conversation with Araluen's Battle Master, eat his meal, and keep a surreptitious eye on Horace. Was it just him, or did the young man look rather pale? And was his hand shaking a bit as he passed dishes around the table? Well, wasn't that interesting. That seemed to be quite a bit of guilt for a simple cake. Obviously Horace was guilty of some other transgression. Judging by the way he kept glancing at Cassandra it had something to do with the Princess. Oh, Crowley could have fun with this, he just knew he could. Smiling smugly on the inside, Crowley stopped watching Horace and turned his full attention back to the Battle Master.

* * *

Over the next week Horace found notes everywhere. In his room, in the courtyard, in the stables, _everywhere._ They haunted him. _Why'd you do it?_ _How could you?_ _Did you think you could keep it secret?_ He had never known Cassandra could be so heartless as to torture him before she killed him. Because, increasingly, Cassandra seemed to be the only suspect. Who else could do this?

Finally, one day, he snapped. He found a note in his shoe, _his shoe_, and he realized that he couldn't take it any longer. He ran out of his room in search of Cassandra, and found her in her private chambers. He saw the startled look on her face and hurried to speak before she could.

"Listen, I'm sorry, alright? I just can't take it anymore! If you're going to kill me just do it already! Stop torturing me." Cassandra just stared at him for a moment, startled by the turn of events.

"Horace, what are you talking about?"

Now Horace was confused. He shoved the note at her. "Didn't you write this?"

She read the note then looked up and shook her head. "Never seen it before in my life." Horace stared at her, but the look of confusion on her face was genuine.

"Really? You never..." She shook her head. "In that case," Horace snatched the note back, "This never happened." He tore the note up into little pieces. Cassandra opened her mouth as a realization dawned on her.

"Wait, what did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"No," he said as he marched out of the room. Cassandra followed.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

It went on like that for some days, but Horace never did reveal just what he had done to Cassandra. All the same, Crowley considered it a joke well done. And Horace never did understand why, for the next month, Crowley burst into laughter every time he saw the young knight.

* * *

_ There, all done now. You should review. Peace. :P_


	5. Who would you eat?

Warning: This chapter contains hypothetical cannibalism.

_ Wow. I will probably never get to write that ever again. So, this one is a weird little game that the Rangers are playing at the Gathering. And yes, it does involve cannibalism. I really can't think of a way to explain that, so you should just read. :P_

* * *

Halt, Crowley, Gilan, and Will were sitting around the campfire in front of their tents, enjoying each other's company at the annual Gathering. Will, Gilan, and Crowley were playing some sort of game, while Halt sat nearby, carving a piece of wood and not really paying attention. So when Will directed a question at him he was taken completely by surprise.

"Hey Halt, if you were on a desert island with me, Gilan, and Crowley, and there wasn't any food, who would you eat?" Will asked. Halt looked up from the wood he was carving.

"What? I wouldn't _eat_ anyone. What kind of a question is that?"

"I would eat Halt," Gilan said resolutely.

"But Halt seems like he'd be kind of tough," Crowley said.

"True, but there's a lot of muscle on him," Gilan said to defend his choice. Halt looked faintly disturbed as his companions discussed the quality of meat he would make.

"Hm... But look at you," Crowley said, studying Gilan,"You're much younger. I bet you'd be really tender."

"Well, I'm not really an option for me," the younger Ranger responded.

"That's true," Will agreed. "Who would you eat Crowley?"

"I'd have to go with you Will."

"Me? Why me?" Will said, suddenly a little less eager to play this game.

"Well, you're even younger than Gilan. I bet you would taste the best."

"Oh, that's true," Halt said. Suddenly enjoying this game now that he saw his apprentice's discomfort. Gilan was nodding thoughtfully as well. Will almost squirmed backwards as the three older Rangers stared at him, presumably evaluating the quality of a meal he would make.

Halt was the first to break the silence. "So, all agreed then? If we're ever trapped on a desert island we eat Will."

"Agreed," Gilan and Crowley said.

Will squirmed a bit, then stood from his place near the fire. He wasn't quite so fond of this game anymore. "I'm going to bed," he announced. The other three Rangers watched as he tromped back to his tent and crawled inside.

Gilan looked after the boy thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. Halt glanced sideways at his former apprentice. "What are you thinking Gilan?"

Gilan appeared startled, jumping a bit. "What? Nothing."

"Nothing my foot. That was your plotting face."

"Well, I was just thinking of a joke we could play on him," Gilan admitted reluctantly.

"Really? What is it?" Crowley asked eagerly. Gilan leaned closer and began to explain his idea.

* * *

"Will," A familiar voice said. The boy felt his shoulder being shaken, "Will, wake up." The apprentice reluctantly opened his eyes. He stared up for a moment, waiting for the blurry scene in front of him to come into focus. Halt, Gilan, and Crowley were standing over him, evil grins on their faces and forks in their hands. Will screamed.

* * *

_ So tell me, who would you eat? And just to make myself seem a little less creepy, the idea for this came about because of the Discovery Channel. I was watching some extreme animal show, and there's this kind of cave cricket that will eat its own back legs instead of starve to death. While discussing this with my brother the conversation somehow turned to, "Which one of us would you eat?" And inspiration struck. _

_ Also, just a heads up, I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so none of my stories will be getting updated for awhile. And unless I get reviews today then I won't be responding to those for a while either, depending on how busy I am. _


	6. I Wish

_ Hmm... I do believe I started writing this after I saw Prince of Persia. Good movie, by the way. It certainly surpassed my expectations. (Which wasn't that difficult, as I had absolutely no expectations, especially for a movie based off a video game.) But anyway, this one involves a genie. Which doesn't actually make sense because there were no genies in Prince of Persia. But whatever. Enjoy, I suppose. :P_

* * *

Halt was on a mission. He needed to find more coffee. And he refused to go out and buy some. There simply had to be coffee somewhere in this apartment. He was a Ranger, he wouldn't allow coffee to _not_ be in the apartment.

And so he set to searching every last nook and cranny of the kitchen. Pulling his hand out from a cabinet, Halt found himself holding a small, intricately carved wooden box. It was rather dusty, so he rubbed it off on his sleeve for a moment. Then he popped off the little wooden lid and peered inside.

Drat. It was empty.

Or wait, was it? Halt looked closer, and he saw what appeared to be a sort of bluish mist gathering in the little box. Hm. Well, whatever it was, it definitely wasn't coffee. So he set the box aside and continued his rummaging.

"Greetings, Master!" A voice positively boomed from behind Halt, which would have startled him, had he not been a Ranger. He turned to see a massive, somewhat transparent figure hovering above the little box. "I, an all powerful genie, am here to grant you three wishes! Anything in the world, name it and it will be yours!"

Halt had heard of genies before. The Aridi believed in such things, some sort of desert spirits trapped in an object for all eternity. Supposedly all powerful, able to grant their master any wish. Halt didn't have time for that right now. He peered around the genie and saw a scrap of parchment lying on the table. He hopped gracefully around the all powerful magical being in his kitchen and snatched up the note.

_Halt_

_ I bought more coffee, it's in the cabinet._

_ - Love Pauline_

Halt nodded. Just as he had thought, there _was_ coffee in this apartment. The only question was, which cabinet was it in? He'd been looking through cabinets for the past fifteen minutes. And why did they have so much storage space? It wasn't as though they used it.

Halt shook his head. That was a question for another time.

He started feeling around yet another dark wooden space. The genie watched him in disbelief. "Um, excuse me, all powerful magical being over here!" Halt ignored him.

"Perhaps you aren't sure what to wish for?" The genie ventured, sure that Halt was simply overwhelmed by the possibilities, and had gone into some state of shock. He took Halt's silence as a yes. He decided to suggest a few wishes. "I could make you a king," he offered.

Halt continued his search through the cabinets. "Been there, done that," he said distractedly.

"Well, I could make you rich beyond your wildest dreams."

"No thank you, I prefer to work for a living."

"I... I could make someone fall in love with you. Whoever you want, any girl in the world."

"I hate to disappoint you," Halt said as he closed a drawer, "but I'm already married, and she's the only girl I've ever wanted."

"Alright, then what about... bringing someone back from the dead? Surely there's someone you'd like to see again?"

Halt shook his head in annoyance. "No. Who am I to decide who should live and who shouldn't? They might be happier dead."

"Fine. But what if I made you younger? Surely you would enjoy that?"

Halt stuck his head into a particularly deep cabinet and his muffled voice floated back, "No thank you. I'm fine with being old."

"But, but, but-" The genie stuttered in disbelief. He stared in confusion at the Ranger. People were usually so eager for their wishes. This one wasn't interested at all. Suddenly, there was a muffled cry of joy from the cabinet.

Halt emerged in triumph, clenching a sack of coffee in one fist. "Ah, perfect," he sighed in relief. Then he stood and set to brewing that most wonderful of drinks. The genie watched him in disbelief.

"Don't you want your wishes?"

Halt glanced over his shoulder in annoyance. "I wish you would shut up."

Instantly, the genie's mouth snapped shut. Halt waited impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing. When it did, he poured it into a mug and sipped at it in ecstasy. Then he peered over at the poor genie, who was floating around with his mouth forced shut. Halt contemplated him for a moment, then went and retrieved the little wooden box.

"Maybe you should go back in your box," he said.

The genie nodded, dissipating into a thick blue smoke that gathered itself back into the intricately carved wooden box. Once all the smoke had entered Halt replaced the lid. He studied the pretty thing for a moment. He held in his hands the key to unimaginable power. The dreams and desires of a lifetime, instantly fulfilled. Proof that magic existed in this world. The power to change everything. He studied the carvings crisscrossing the wood, mulling over the possibilities.

Then he chucked it out the window.

* * *

_ So, if you guys could have any three wishes, what would they be? World peace? World domination? Chocolate? My first wish would be that you guys write a review. And maybe you could share your wishes at the same time. Just sayin'. Peace. :P_


	7. Lady Horse

Alyss watched Will in consternation. She had come over to his cabin to eat dinner, as she had done dozens of times. She and Will had been seeing each other- officially- for over a year now. And Alyss had always enjoyed eating with Will, he was one of the few men with whom Alyss could have an intelligent conversation.

But Will had been acting strangely all night. He couldn't seem to stay focused on the conversation, which wasn't like him. He ate his food, fidgeting with his fork, and tapping his fingers nervously. He spoke only when faced with a direct question, and he seemed unable to meet Alyss' gaze.

The courier wasn't sure what was wrong, but she intended to find out. She had drawn breath to ask Will what was bothering him, but was cut off when the Ranger asked a question.

"So, you know how Tug has been seeing this lady horse?"

"Has he?" Alyss asked, a look of bemusement on her face.

"Yes," Will said straight-faced.

"What does this lady horse look like?"

"Oh, she's beautiful. Tall, thin, long mane. Real nice legs."

"She sounds lovely," Alyss laughed.

"Yep. She and Tug have some wonderful conversations."

"Do they?"

"Yes. Tug's lady horse is very smart. Clever too. And the sweetest thing you've ever met. But she's tough when she needs to be. A real fighter."

"Hmm... And what does Tug think of this lady horse?"

"Oh, he thinks the world of her. Tug really loves his lady horse."

"Well what a lucky lady horse," Alyss said politely.

"Yeah," Will paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his head, "And see, lately, Tug's been thinking about settling down with his lady horse. Maybe even- in the future- having some little Tug babies."

Alyss smiled. "It sounds like a good idea."

Will nodded several times. "Yes. But there's just one problem."

"And what is that?"

"Well Tug's having a hard time asking his lady horse if she feels the same way," he paused, "What do you think he should do?"

"Well Tug should just ask her. They sound perfect for each other."

"Ah, yes, that's good advice. I'll be sure to tell him. And Alyss?"

"Yes?"

"You know that whole story I just told you?" Alyss rose her eyebrows, indicating that, yes, of course she remembered the conversation they'd had three seconds ago. "Well, what would you say if I told you that I wasn't talking about Tug?"

"Hmm?" Alyss' brow furrowed in confusion.

"What if..." Will took a deep breath, "What if... I told you it was about us?"

And suddenly a ring had appeared in the center of Will's hand. It was a simple thing, just a golden band, gleaming in the Ranger's palm. Alyss took in a sharp breath. Her hand flew to her mouth. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Will's face. He was watching her, smiling uncertainly. There was so much she wanted to say. But for the first time in her life, Alyss found herself at a loss for words. But that was alright. She only needed one.

* * *

_And... yeah. So, that was Will proposing to Alyss, in case you didn't get it. I don't know what to say about this one. Oh! Except it was inspired by the term 'Tug babies". I'm really not sure about this one. Um.. review. Peace. :P_


	8. Charades

_The Rangers play charades in this one. It's kind of random. _

* * *

Gilan mimed riding a horse. "Horse!" Gilan nodded, then patted his chest. "Uh... You? Your horse?" Gilan nodded frantically. "Blaze!" Gilan motioned for them to continue. "Blaze, flames...Fire!" Gilan nodded, and smiling, sat back down beside Will. He looked around the circle of rangers. Earlier that evening, as they all sat around their campfires, the suggestion of playing charades had come up. The idea was greeted with enthusiasm by all. "Alright Crowley, your turn."

Crowley thought for a moment, then stood and held his hands out in front of him, palms up, angled slightly downward. He licked the index finger of his left hand, then moved it in an arcing motion from right to left. "Book?... Reading!" Crowley nodded. He put his hand in a fist, and let his tongue protrude slightly, then moved his hand back and forth. "Writing! Spelling?" Crowley gestured for them to continue. "Reading and writing... learning? School... Teacher!" Crowley bowed and sat back down.

"Your turn Will," he said. The young Ranger stood up and thought for a moment before proceeding.

He mimed shooting a bow. "Bow? Uh... Arrow! Shoot?" Will moved on. He pretended to drink from a mug. "Mug! Drink!... Cup? Um... Coffee!" Will nodded, then put his hands out to either side of his body, then moved them together. "Coffee, bow...Ranger!" Will nodded eagerly. Will attempted an angry expression, brows drawn together and a deep frown on his face. "Angry? Uh... mad?" Gilan gestured for Will to move on. Will placed one hand on his hip, put the other up in front of him, and waggled his hand, pointing with his index finger. "Commanding? Bossy?

He held out one hand straight out from his body, palm facing toward the other rangers. "Stop? Stop..." Will rose one eyebrow. "Halt!" Gilan threw up his arms in victory while the others gave way to laughter.

Halt glared over at Will. "How about tomorrow we play pin the arrow on the apprentice?"

* * *

_Go to the next chapter! I wrote two of these! Peace. :P_


	9. War

_So, this one is a bit longer than every other drabble, and I think it could actually be a halfway decent story, if only I knew where to take it. So enjoy. :P_

* * *

"Crowley!" Halt stormed into the room, slamming the door behind him and foregoing his usual quiet and subdued behavior.

"Yes?" the Ranger Commandant faced his friend calmly.

"Just what is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning of what?" Crowley said innocently, even though he had a fairly good idea of what had Halt so worked up.

"You know what! Why are there Hibernian troops in Araluen? What's going on?"

"Sit down Halt."

"I don't want to sit down Crowley, I want an explanation."

"I'll give you one, if you just sit down."

Halt's eyes narrowed as he studied Crowley. Slowly, without taking his eyes off of his old friend, Halt pulled out a chair and sat down. Crowley nodded in approval. "That's better. Like you said, there are Hibernian troops marching against us. Now, we don't know what's caused this sudden hostility. We're trying to figure it out right now. We've got all of our best people working on it."

"Except me, you mean. Why wasn't I told about this?"

"Because you've got emotional ties to this country Halt. The way you've acted in the past ten minutes proves that." Crowley glanced down at his desk. "I couldn't let you jeopardize this country Halt."

"Jeopordi-" Halt looked taken aback. "Me? Jeopardize this country? Since when have I ever put this country in danger?"

Crowley sighed. "You haven't Halt. But this time you've got too much of a personal connection. I'm not going to let your emotions get in the way of your thinking."

"Crowley, there are troops marching across Araluen, and you don't think I'm capable of helping?"

"No, Halt, I think you're very capable of helping. In fact, I think you're probably the best person to have in the field right now."

"Then why aren't I?"

"Like I said Halt, clouded judgment.

"Clouded judgme-" Halt started indignantly. Then he stopped. His eyes narrowed and his body became strangely still. "Crowley," he said, his voice calm and controlled. "What kingdom are they from?"

Crowley's eyes flicked to the right. "Hibernia, you know that."

"Crowley."

Crowley looked down at his desk and raised a hand to his temple. He sighed. "Clonmel," he admitted quietly.

Crowley heard the scrape of Halt's chair as he stood violently from his seat. He looked up to see Halt already heading out of the room. "Halt, where do you think you're going?"

Halt looked back over his shoulder. "To speak to my nephew."

"And just how do you propose to find him?"

"He'll be here. He's not the kind of King that lets others lead his men."

"You sure about that Halt?"

"Trust me Crowley, I know my nephew."

"Do you? Do you really Halt? Did you know that he would invade this country? I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?"

Halt glared at him for a moment, and in a split second the whole atmosphere of the room changed. Halt whirled back around and slipped through the door. It closed without a sound.

* * *

"Your majesty."

Sean Carrick, King of Clonmel, looked up at the intrusion to his tent. His steward stood at the tent's opening, looking apologetic for disturbing him. "What is it?" Sean asked.

"Well, we've got a man outside, he's claiming to be some relative of yours. We aren't quite sure how he got in the camp, he just appeared out of nowhere outside the tent. We think he's Araluen. What would you like us to do?"

"What does he look like?"

His steward shrugged. "Nothing really special. Short little fellow, bearded, going gray. He's wearing a gray and green cloak, dyed all different colors."

Sean felt his heart begin thumping harder against his chest as surprise coursed through his veins. "Send him in," said Sean.

"Yes your majesty. Would you like us to disarm him first?"

Sean thought for a moment. He knew that Halt would have a longbow and at least two knives on his person, but he also knew that his men probably wouldn't find every weapon in Halt's possession. He also knew that Halt was most likely just as dangerous without a knife in his hand than he was with one. "No, don't bother."

The steward nodded and disappeared from the entrance. The man reappeared a moment later, leading a nondescript little figure. The steward stood hesitantly behind the Araluen for a moment, looking a question at his king. Sean made a gesture for the steward to leave. The man nodded and stepped outside. Sean knew that he wouldn't stray far.

As soon as the man had left Halt turned on his nephew. "What on earth is wrong with you?"

"It's nice to see you too Uncle," Sean replied calmly.

"I don't give a fig about niceties Sean. You're attacking my country and I want to know why. And you'd better have a damn good reason."

"Of course I do," Sean said. Halt waited for further explanation, but none was forthcoming.

"Well? What's the reason Sean? What right have you got to come into _my_ country and start attacking us?"

Now Sean's own anger was flaring. "Oh, I had every right to start attacking _your_ country. What kind of king would I be if I hadn't?"

"Oh, I don't know, the peaceful kind?"

"I-" Sean stopped. He studied his Uncle closely, taking in the small stature, the deep brown eyes that mirrored his own. That spark of righteous anger playing on his face. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"They didn't tell you?" Sean was shocked.

Halt's anger was deflating now, turning into an annoyed curiosity. "Tell me what?"

Sean laughed. "Why, everything, of course. They didn't tell you that your oh-so-precious country attacked us first."

* * *

_And so the super long drabble ends. Like I said before, I think this is actually a halfway decent idea for a story, but I'm not going to start another one, and I wouldn't know where to take it if I did. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Oh, and read the last chapter too if you haven't already! I wrote two of these things! Merry Christmas/ Holiday of Your Choice. :P _


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